Originally Published in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette As we prepare to re-inaugurate President Barack Obama, let us remember that the majority voted back into office a Nobel Peace laureate who worked in the last four years to bring together members of all faiths on common grounds. For example, as a Muslim-American, I was heartened to see that in 2009 the president, a devout Christian, spoke to the...
Originally published in The Syracuse Post-Standard An innocent Hindu man was pushed in front of a subway because he was mistaken to be a Muslim (the alleged assailant presumably did this because she blamed all ”brown” people for 9/11). It is unfortunate that people still believe a Hindu, a Muslim or a Middle Easterner are all held responsible for the 9/11 attack just because they have...
Originally Published in The WashingtonPost.com As a Muslim American, #MyJihad begins every night—get to bed on time so I can wake for pre-dawn prayer and nourish my soul. #MyJihad is not skipping a healthy breakfast—as our Starbucks society is prone to tempt—and thus properly nourish my body. #MyJihad ensures I spend time daily in service to humanity—charity, volunteer work, and mentoring—to...
Originally published in Montgomery News This letter is in response to the story “Wissahickon, Upper Dublin school districts respond to Connecticut school shooting.” As I was reading this story, I couldn’t help but remember my own joyful, carefree Stony Creek Elementary School days. This caused much sorrow for me, as I understood how these young innocent lives were cut short. This senseless...
Originally published in Cincinatti.com Originally published in Cincinatti.com On Sunday I saw some pictures of the Sandy Hook Elementary victims. The thought of the killer shooting at these little angels multiple times brings me devastating grief. I cannot imagine what must have been their last thought. No religion promotes such barbaric acts. I am glad that the killer’s religion—if he even had...
Originally Published on the Jsonline.com A chord has struck with every parent in America – and possibly the world – after the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in Connecticut. Like all other parents, I find myself thinking, “It could have been my child.” We need to make laws that will thwart this brutal violence against our kids and society in general, but...
Originally Published on the Hartfordfavs.com On Thanksgiving, this Muslim American gave thanks for enjoying religious freedom in America. The first pilgrims to the New World, the Puritans, wearing their traditional bonnets and trousers, fled an intolerant Europe. Today, in places like France, Muslim women are banned from wearing headscarves in public places. constantly escaping into the...
Originally Published on Thebaltimoresun.com There are a growing number of conflicts worldwide, fighting in Syria, unrest in Egypt, and increasing tension in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict among them. As more and more countries become involved, a real possibility exists that things can get worse for everyone. This holiday season, I believe it is important for countries to stop and think...
Originally Published on Thenorthwestern.com I read with interest Mr. Lyle Conrad’s letter on December 3, in which he sought interfaith dialogue with local area Muslims. At the same time he attributed something to Islam which I, as a Muslim, wanted to clarify. Muslims consider Jesus to be a prophet like Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Muhammad and thus he is a highly revered, sacred and...
Originally published in The DailyHerald.com Pamela Geller has tactlessly taken constitutionally protected “free speech” to a whole new level of offense. She has put thousands of dollars into ads offensive toward minority religious groups on CTA buses in Chicago. Whatever her intentions, Islam teaches that the best response is to condemn Geller’s hateful message and respond with...